The Trophy Exchange (37 page)

Forty-Five

She woke up resolved to see Evan Spencer before he left for work. She knew there were a lot of reasons why she shouldn
’
t, but she did it anyway. The possibility of a serial killing duo no longer felt quite right in her mind, but it didn
’
t feel all wrong either.

Evan answered the door.
“
Do I need to call my attorney?
”

“
Doctor, I
’
m trying to solve your wife
’
s murder. Why do you treat me like the enemy?
”

Evan look
ed
over his shoulder and
then
turned back to Lucinda.
“
The girls are having breakfast in the kitchen. Let
’
s talk out on the porch.
”
He stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind him.
“
Lieutenant, if you
’
re questioning me as a suspect, I should call my attorney.
”

“Dr.
Spencer, the charges were dropped last night. Don
’
t we both want the same thing
–
justice for Kathleen?
”

“
Lieutenant, I know a couple of exceptional plastic surgeons. I would be glad to give you a referral.
”

Damn you, asshole
, Lucinda thought.
“
Doctor, do you have any close male friends?
”

“
Close? Depends on how you define that, Lieutenant. I have male friends, sure. But probably not friends in the way a woman would define a friend. We don
’
t share intimate secrets, confess hidden fantasies or giggle over our spouses. I saved all that for my best friend
–
my only true friend.
”

“
Who is that,
D
octor? Rita?
”

He grunted and curled his lips in disdain.
“
Not hardly. My best friend is my wife Kate. I still talk to her, but it
’
s not quite same. Not the same, at all.
”
He closed his eyes. When he opened them, pools of moisture clung to the surface of his pupils
,
defying gravity.

Lucinda perceived sincerity and sorrow in his reaction. But, she reminded herself, if he worked with a partner on other murders, the partner could
’
ve killed Kathleen in a power-play
battle
or out of anger. He can be sorrowful about his wife
’
s death and still be responsible for the other murders.
“
Who is Rita?
”
she asked.

“
My attorney advised me not to answer that question, Lieutenant.
”

“
What are you hiding from me, Dr Spencer?
”

Evan looked at the floor of the porch and did not respond.

“
Do you want me to find your wife
’
s killer, Doctor?
”

Evan lifted his head and turned his face in her direction, but his eyes skewed far to the left.
“
Of course I do.
”

Lucinda tasted a lie in his answer. She rolled the flavor around her mouth as she headed back downtown.

Forty-Six

Evan forced himself to concentrate as he finished getting the girls ready and dropp
ed
them off at their respective schools. When he reached his office, he sat in his car trying to figure out what to do.

If Rita’s telling the truth, Kirk was out of the hospital and had been for quite some time. But Rita could just be scamming me – looking for a quick buck. She did show me a marriage license, but was it real or a forgery? And if it’s all a lie, how did she learn about Kirk in the first place? Did she really meet him when she visited someone else at the hospital? Or did she work there? Or did she used to be a patient there? Or did she learn some other way? Impossible.

Evan thought back to the abrupt shift in his childhood. Before his move to Lynchburg, he remembered his relief when Kirk was sent away for good. He still felt the barbs from his classmates who
’d
tormented him about his crazy brother and avoided him outside of school. But most of the first nine years of his life was a swirling mass of disorganized film clips.

He recalled the move clearly, though. He remembered day after day, returning home from school and facing his mother
’
s interrogation at the kitchen table.

“
Did you let your old last name slip out today?
”

“
No, Mom.
”

“
Even accidentally?
”

“
No, Mom.
”

“
Are you sure?
”

“
Yes, Mom.
”

“
Don
’
t look down at the table, Evan. Look at me.
”
She waited until he raised his head and met her eyes.
“
Did you mention your brother?
”

“
No, Mom.
”

“
Not one little slip?
”

“
No, Mom.
”

“
Did you say anything about where you used to live?
”

“
No, Mom.
”

“
You swear to me you never will?
”

“
Yes, Mom.
”

“
No matter how long
–
no matter how old you are
–
you will never let Kirk
’
s name cross your lips?
”
“
No, Mom.
”

“
You promise?
”

“
Yes, Mom, I promise.
”

Then he
’
d sit and listen, as she recounted the nightmare stories about her oldest son. Occasionally, he
’
d face the same questioning from his father
,
a
nd he
’d
g
i
ve him the same promise. Now his father was dead but the oath Evan made him still lived. In fact, it held a tighter grip on him than the one he
’d
made to his mother. There were dark corners in his relationship with her that he was afraid to explore.

Although his parents
had
assured him Kirk would never see the outside world again, it looked as if Kirk was on the loose.
Could he have killed Kate and all of those other women? Had he? Or was it someone else from the past, haunting me by recreating Kirk’s crime? Who could hate me and my family that much? A member of Bethany’s family seeking revenge after all these years?

He wanted to talk to Lieutenant Pierce about all of this. He wanted to tell her everything. But he
’d
promised his parents
–
he
’d
swor
n
he would not reveal the family secret. He didn
’
t know what he feared more: a guilty brother who kept killing while he
dithered
or an innocent brother railroaded to lethal injection because of his mental instability and a distant past of violent acts. Was Kirk a monster or just a convenient scapegoat?

He wanted to trust Lieutenant Pierce. He wanted to help her
–
help her solve the mystery of Kate
’
s murder and more. He didn
’
t know why he was drawn to her. He knew she cared about Charley and that mattered but it didn
’
t answer the question of his attraction.

Pierce didn
’
t have Kate
’
s beauty
–
she may have once, but not now. She didn
’
t possess Kate
’
s gentle grace
–
she was abrasive and aggressive. Unlike Kate, Pierce was a hard and unyielding woman. But he sensed somewhere inside of her was a core of softness
,
a place that Charley touched and that he yearned to explore.

But he needed to know more before he walked down that road. He had to talk to his brother. Until he had answers, he could not betray his promise to his parents unless he knew Kirk was guilty. That
’
s why he
’d
put Rita up at the hotel. Rita could lead him to Kirk.
I’m trusting Rita to do the right thing and yet I won’t trust Pierce?
That felt wrong but he didn
’
t know what else to do.

.

Forty-Seven

Lucinda was about to pull into the parking lot of the Justice Center when she noticed a crowd gathered there. Two satellite uplink trucks by the curb and a milling group of people holding video cameras, microphones and notepads made the media presence too obvious to ignore. She turned down a side street while she called Ted on his cell. He was driving in circles, too.
“
Meet me at Boone Brothers,
”
she said.

“
The funeral home?
”
Ted asked.

“
Yeah, let
’
s see if Freddy has a spare hearse.
”
She hung up before Ted could object.

Freddy Boone was a high
-
school classmate of Lucinda
’
s and Ted
’
s. Every time she saw him, Lucinda was amazed by how little he
’d
changed over the years. The soulful puppy eyes of a crooner, the slicked
-
back jet black hair of a Latin lover, and beatific smile of a saint. And even after all these years in the family mortuary business, he still had the soul of Dennis the Menace.

Freddy wrapped his gangly arms around Lucinda and said,
“
Oh, darling, not another one?
”

After her mother
’
s death, Lucinda had moved in with her grandmother. Her grandmother
’
s circle of friends had embraced the motherless child with an intense affection that never died over the passing years. Lately, the old women were dying of old age on a regular basis and all of them had prepaid funeral plans with the Boone Brothers.
“
Thank
h
eaven not today, Freddy. I have a different problem this time.
”
Lucinda explained their current dilemma.

Freddy was delighted. Not only did he have a spare hearse that morning, but he also volunteered to be their driver. To Freddy, the plan had all the earmarks of a good high
-
school prank and he couldn
’
t think of a better way to spend his morning.

Ted, on the other hand, needed some convincing. He was squeamish about crawling into a space normally reserved for coffins or body bags. After Lucinda and Freddy exchanged a few jokes at Ted
’
s expense, he gave up and crawled in the back with Lucinda for the short drive to the medical examiner
’
s office in the subterranean level of the Justice Center.

Freddy pushed open the glass between the driver
’
s seat and the back of the hearse and said,
“
Hey, Ted, I don
’
t think I
’
ve seen you since high school, man. Don
’
t your loved ones ever die?
”

“
There
’
ve been a few, Freddy, but they
’
ve all been out of town funerals.
”

“
If that changes, Ted, you know who to call.
”

“
Will do, Freddy. After this morning, I owe you big time.
”

“
You owed me for a lot longer than that, my man. You stole
the
love of my life
–
the lovely Lucinda.
”

“
Oh, c
’
mon, Freddy,
”
Lucinda said,
“
you barely noticed me in high school.
”

“
Au contraire
, lovely one,
”
Freddy said.
“
I was insanely jealous of Ted.
”

“
But Freddy, she was such a nerd in high school,
”
Ted quipped.

“
Excuse me! A nerd?
”
Lucinda said.

“
Please, Lucinda, don
’
t deny it.
”

“
Aw, but such a lovely nerd,
”
Freddy said.

“
She was that and still is,
”
Ted said.

“
Can
’
t argue with you there, Ted. One look at her, I want to write poetry.
”

“
I did write poetry.
”

“
Really? You had it real bad, didn
’
t you?
”

Men are so full of crap
, Lucinda thought.
Do they think I’m stupid? With the shape my face is in, I’m about as sexy as road kill baking under a hot summer sun.
“
O
kay,
guys,
”
Lucinda interrupted.
“
Enough. Please. Look
,
w
e
’
re here.
”

They drove past the horde of reporters gathered by the front of the building observing them through the anonymity of the dark tinted glass. The journalists betrayed their impatience by constant motion and repeated mike checks. A small clutch of news-types gathered by the side entrance and a few even lurked by the rear entrance to the morgue. All of them, though, ignored the hearse.

Freddy pulled up to the double wide garage door and tooted his horn. A male face appeared in the small people-sized door beside it. The man nodded at Freddy and disappeared. In seconds, the garage door began its ponderous and noisy glide up. The sound attracted glances from the reporters, but nothing more.

Inside, two techs stood next to a stretcher. After the garage door lowered back down to the floor, Freddy opened the back door of the hearse with a grin. The techs watched in stunned silence as two live bodies emerged. Lucinda said,
“
Thanks, Freddy,
”
and gave him a peck on the check. She turned to the techs, waved and said,
“
No thanks, guys, we don
’
t need a ride today.
”

She and Ted headed up the hall to the elevator. The moment they stepped out on
to the
H
omicide floor, Captain Holland barked,
“
In my office.
”
Once the door shut behind them, he said,
“
I hope you two no-commented your way in here.
”

“
No need, Captain,
”
Lucinda said.

“
What do you mean
‘
no need
’?
What did you say to them,
Pierce
?
”

Holland listened as Lucinda and Ted delivered a tag
-
team
account
of the tale of their arrival. Holland shook his head and laughed.
“
Brilliant. You gave the death guys
’
day a good start and you kept your ass out of a sling in one fell swoop. Now
,
let
’
s keep all of us out of trouble. In one hour, the PIO has a press conference. By then, we need a task force formed and a firm meeting date set.
”

“
But Captain
. . .”
Lucinda began.

Holland slapped a copy of that day
’
s newspaper on the desk between them. Across the top, a huge headline screamed
:
“
Serial Killer Arrested
”.
Beneath the banner in a smaller font was a subhead
ing
:
“
Prominent Doctor Charged with Multiple Murders
”.

“
No buts, Pierce. The chief and everybody between me and him has already chewed my ass this morning and Spencer
’
s attorney
’
s been out there playing up to the media about his client
’
s false arrest. That
’
s all the press will talk about if we don
’
t get something new out there. Call every jurisdiction. Coordinate a time. Let
’
s roll.
”

“
What about the
F
eebs?
”
Lucinda asked.

“
Whether or not the FBI gets involved is a task
-
force decision. You can work that out with your fellow team members. Let
’
s get busy lining them up now.
”

It took multiple calls to each of the jurisdictions to settle on a date and time that worked for all the departments involved. At last they had it
–
next Monday at
two
p.m.

“
We
’
ve time to wrap this up before then, Ted.
”

“
In your dreams, Lucinda.
”

They banged out a list of investigators and their agencies and attached it to an e-mail and sent it down to the PIO. Lucinda and Ted went to the conference room to brainstorm angles to follow over the next few days.

“
How are things with Ellen, Ted?
”
Lucinda asked.

“
We
’
ve got important work to do right here, Lucinda,
”
Ted said.